Hialeah Police Officer Jesus Manuel Menocal Jr Charged With Civil Rights Violations

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WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, yesterday returned a two-count indictment against Hialeah Police Department Officer Jesus Manuel Menocal Jr, 32, for depriving two women of their civil rights.

According to the indictment, in June of 2015, while working as a police officer with the Hialeah Police Department in Florida, Officer Menocal is alleged to have willfully deprived a minor female of her right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures when, for his own sexual gratification, he directed her to remove her clothing. The indictment further alleges that the offense included kidnapping, and the use and threatened use of a dangerous weapon.

On another date in 2015, while working as a police officer, Officer Menocal is also alleged to have exposed himself to a woman and grabbed her.  This offense also included the use and threatened use of a dangerous weapon.

Menocal is scheduled to have his initial appearance today at 2 P.M. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra (Case No. 19-20822-CR-Williams/Torres).

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the FBI’s Miami Field Office at 754.703.2000.

An indictment is merely a formal accusation of criminal conduct. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, and FBI Special Agent in Charge, George Piro, who also acknowledged the efforts of the Hialeah Police Department and the Miami Dade County State Attorney’s Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilham Hosseini and Edward N. Stamm of the Southern District of Florida and Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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